MEPs endorse deal on 2013 budget

The European Parliament’s budgets committee has endorsed a compromise reached with member states last week on the European Union’s budgets for 2012 and 2013.

A formal committee vote has been scheduled for Monday (10 December) and a vote in plenary for Wednesday (12 December).

The member states’ formal approval is expected to be given by ambassadors to the EU tomorrow and by a ministerial meeting in the days that follow.

The committee’s approval was given after the leaders of the political groups in Parliament had endorsed the deal, with Greens and parts of the Socialists and Democrats opposed. Martin Schulz, the president of the Parliament, had instructed the MEPs not to vote on the deal before the group leaders’ decision.

Giovanni La Via, a centre-right Italian MEP who is one of the chief negotiators on the budget, said: “This package is an important political agreement, it unblocks payments for the Parliament’s priorities. It makes possible the continuation of all community programmes and allows us to start the new year with a budget.”

Alain Lamassoure, a centre-right French MEP who chairs the budgets committee, said that the deal was made possible by declarations from the three main EU institutions – European Commission, Council of Ministers and European Parliament – that any payment obligations not currently contained in the 2013 budget would be adequately covered.

Lamassoure said that he had sought, and received, clarity that €2.9 billion in payment requests made this year that will be rolled over into next year will not compromise spending from the 2013 budget.

Helga Trüpel, a German Green MEP, said that this was “a bad deal for Europe and for sensible budgeting”.

“With EU governments only agreeing to meet part of the shortfalls for 2012, the 2013 budget will have to fill the resulting €3 billion gap in payments to programmes in EU member states that have already been committed to. This will lead to inevitable shortfalls next year, perpetuating the current cycle,” she said.

The compromise was struck last week in negotiations between MEPs and member states’ diplomats. A previous attempt to agree a budget for 2013 collapsed earlier in November when the European Commission asked for an additional €9bn to cover payment shortfalls from the 2012 budget. Under the compromise, €6bn will be added from the 2012 budget while €2.9bn will be rolled over into 2013.